When Daine comes down from the mountains, she carries with her two things: a dark secret about her own past, and a strangely powerful magic that even she doesn't understand.
Soon Daine has a job working for Onua, the queen's horsemistress, who is astonished at the girl's way with animals. It's almost as if she can speak to them....
Daine and Onua travel to Pirate's Swoop, where Daine finds herself swept into a war that threatens all of Tortall, a war where magic is one of the main weapons.
The wall between the worlds is cracking.
The magical creatures are returning.
Now Daine must master her own magic, and face her own dark memories, if she is to save her new home from destruction.
